They were commenting on a Financial Times article on a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which said that websites should anticipate the type of stories that may attract insulting comments - and be prepared to remove them promptly, or even moderate comments before they are published.

Dr Yaacob, in his Facebook post, said many other countries face similar issues in dealing with "irresponsible online comments".

A number of websites, he added, have put in place ways to promote "healthy conversations" online.